Join the Small November 14 for the 2024 SBAN Summit on Community Ownership!
This year, the Small Business Anti-Displacement Network is hosting a virtual, day-long event focused on long-term solutions that allow community members and stakeholders to control commercial assets, land, and enterprises. Community ownership can provide stability for small businesses and mitigate commercial gentrification pressures.
At the summit, we’ll explore individual and collective ownership models that support BIPOC- and immigrant-owned small businesses and help them stay in place, including commercial cooperatives, community land trusts, community investment trusts, and commercial property acquisition funds.
The event will feature panel discussions, working sessions, and keynotes by small business advocates, policymakers, and other stakeholders involved in community ownership efforts across the United States and abroad. We’ll discuss community ownership as an anti-displacement strategy, develop collective policy priorities, and outline how to advance this strategy at multiple scales. The summit will also feature insights from SBAN research, case studies, and working groups. The event is open to SBAN members and non-members.
More information here: https://antidisplacement.org/2024-summit/sessions/
Summit sessions will include panels, workshops, small-group breakouts, and other opportunities for networking. Stay tuned for announcements about keynote speakers!
Introduction to Community Ownership
New to community ownership? This introductory session will provide an overview of the basic concept and vocabulary, as well as offer examples of different models of community ownership and varied approaches to acquiring, governing, and operating community-owned property. We will discuss both collective ownership of community assets and ways of achieving community control through individual ownership.
Understanding the Federal Policy Landscape: Tools and Opportunities for Community Ownership
What federal policies support community ownership? This session will take a deep dive into existing federal programs and opportunities for future legislation that can broaden support for commercial community ownership models. Panelists will discuss existing and emerging coalitions and ways for organizations to support legislation, reach key policymakers, and foreground small business interests.
Building Organizational Capacity and Expertise to Launch a Community Ownership Model
What knowledge, skills, and staff capacity does an organization need to launch a community ownership model? In this session, panelists will discuss how to build organizational capacity to acquire property and operate community ownership projects. We’ll share lessons about partnering with outside organizations to acquire and manage commercial property, building technical assistance programs for participating entrepreneurs, retaining legal counsel, rehabbing properties, and developing financing strategies for sustainability.
Can We Buy It? Analyzing the Feasibility of Buying and Operating Commercial Properties
Bring your pencils and calculators for this interactive workshop designed to walk you through various financial aspects to consider when buying, operating, and sustaining a commercial property as an individual or collective.
From Entrepreneur to Property Owner: Supporting Small Businesses in Purchasing Commercial Property
For individual business owners, purchasing commercial property can seem daunting. This panel provides diverse perspectives on how organizations can offer coaching, funding, and other support services to encourage BIPOC and immigrant entrepreneurs to purchase commercial real estate in their community.
Organizing Small Businesses and Community Residents to Purchase Commercial Property
Are you working to build community support for a community ownership project and recruit small businesses tenants and residents to be active in the process? This panel will offer strategies and lessons for how to generate community buy-in, present your vision and shared ownership opportunities, and help small business owners participate in the project as critical stakeholders.
Approaches to Shared Governance: Developing a Community Vision and Drafting a Charter
Equitable and shared governance structures are key for successful community ownership projects.This session will examine how organizations have built different governance structures and created community charters, including legal documents and processes. We’ll also discuss how to organize project stakeholders around shared visions for inclusive development and how to mitigate the challenges of shared governance.
Making the Case for Community Ownership: Working with Policymakers to Grow and Scale Community Ownership
Hear from organizations who are advocating at the city and state level for policies that support various community ownership models. Panelists will discuss how they worked with legislators and other decision-makers to push policies that enable, support, and scale community ownership models. Panelists will also describe how their own community ownership projects influenced or were enabled by local policies.
How to Fund Your Community Ownership Project: Partnering with CDFIs and other Lenders
Acquiring capital is a common challenge for community ownership projects. Get advice from private and mission-driven lenders on how to work with lenders to get community ownership projects funded. Learn how to prepare to talk to a lender, what type of financing products are available, and the important role of CDFIs in supporting community ownership projects.
What’s Next? Identifying Opportunities to Advance Community Ownership
This closing panel will discuss what is on the horizon for community ownership as a small business anti-displacement strategy. What is the outlook for community ownership policy, financing, and organizing in the next few years? Hear from experts who are researching and running diverse community ownership projects about the path ahead for this movement and what you can do to advance community ownership policy and practice in your own backyard.